Manufacture of whiffletrees and draft-bars



(No'ModeL) G. REITER.

MANUFACTURE 0 WHIFFLETEEES AND DRAFT BARS.

,837. Patented July '30, 1889.,

lhvirnn STATES ATENT Fries.

GEORGE REITER, OF ALLEGHENY, ASSIGNOR TO THE PITTSBURG TUBULAR STEELIVHIFFLETREE COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF WHIFFLETREES AND DRAFT-BARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,837, dated July 30,1889.

Application filed February 15, 1889- Serial No. 300,046. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: To enable others skilled in the art to prac-Be it known that I, GEORGE REITER, of tice my invention, I will describethe same Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and more fully, referringto the accompanying State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new drawings,in whichand useful Improvement in the Manufacture Figure 1 is a sideView of the tube from of IVhiffletrees and Draft-Bars; and Ido herewhichthe draft-bar is to be formed. Fig. 2 by declare the following to be afull, clear, and shows the tapered blank. Figs. 3 and 4 are exactdescription thereof. edge and side views, respectively, of the draft- Myinvention relates to the manufacture of bar, both tapered and flattened.Fig. 5is an en- 60 IO whiffletrees, neck-yokes, and other draft-barslarged central cross-section of the blank before for carriages, wagons,and other vehicles, its flattening. Figs. 6 and 7 are enlargedcrossobject being to provide a method of making sections of the finisheddraft-bar at the points metal draft-bars which shallbelightin weight, 11 and 2 2, respectively. Figs. 8 and 9 are and yet shall possess all thenecessary strength views of the dies employed for flattening the 65 I 5for such purposes. It is well known that the tapered blank, and Fig. 10is a view of the metal draft-bar has great advantages over the finishedwhiffletree having the fittings or ordinary wooden bar in that it is notonly. trimmings thereon. more durable, but in that the fittings and Likeletters of reference indicate like parts trimmings can be morepermanently secured in each figure.

thereto. The most improved form of metal In forming a whiffletree-bodyor draft-bar draft-bar heretofore in use has been made of inaccordancewith my invention I take the wrought-metal tubing tapered andgradually wrought-metal tube corresponding in secreduced from at orabout its middle portion tional area to the middle or largest portion oftoward the ends thereof, it being found that the finished draft-bar, andby means of suita- 75 2 5 by tapering the tube toward the ends its blediessuch as are known in the art Itaper strength is very considerablyincreased. the same from at or near the center toward These tubulardraft-bars have, however, been the ends, the custom being to leave asmall found to be objectionable in that they were portion in the middleof the draft-bar straight heavier than desirable in order to obtain theor free from taper to receive the central fit 80 o necessary stiffnessor power to resist the bendting, this middle portion being shown at a,

ing strain. and the tapered portions generally extend- The object of myinvention is to provide ing therefrom to the ends of the tube, as meansof forming whiffletrees or draftbars shown at b. After having impartedthe taper which, while possessing the necessary stiffto the tube,forming the blank shown in Fig. 8 5

ness and strength, can be formed of tubing of 2, I then flatten theblank, so as to form the less thickness and diameter than thatheretowhiffletree-body or draft-bar, as shown in Figs. fore employed, somaterially reducing both 3 and at. This bar may be flattened throughtheweight and the cost of the article. out any desired portion there0fsuch,for ex- To these ends my invention consists, genample, as throughout itsentire length or simo erally stated, in forming the bodies of these plybetween the ends, the bar shown being flat- \vhiffletrees or draft barsby tapering a tened between the points 0 c, and being cylinwrought-metaltube from its middle portion drical and tapering from the points a tothe toward the ends thereof, and then flattening ends (I, this beingshown by the cross-sections part or all of the blank so obtained, thusimin Figs. 6 and 7. I prefer thisform of bar, for 5 5 parting to thebody a flat oroval shape in the reason thatlobtainthenecessarystrengthcross-section, it being found that in so doing in the central portion ofthe blank and stiffthe strength and stiffness of the draft-bar in nessinthe entire body thereof, as the greater the direction of the strainthereon are inportion thereof is increased in width in the creasedone-fifth or more, and consequently direction of greatest strainthereon, and at the I00 that the same strength of draft-bar can be sametime the curvature of the side walls of obtained from a much lightertube. the tube is so reduced as to brace it in the direction of thestrain, so that the strain is more easily sustained thereby, and as theend portions of the bar, which remain cylindrical, are considerablyreduced in diameter and increased in thickness in the tapering of theblank the necessary strength and stiffness are obtained in the endportions thereof without flattening, while I am enabled to employcylindrical fittings for the ends of the blank, as shown in Fig. 10,this shape of fittings being more easily applied. The blanks can befiattened in any suitable way, that shown in the drawings being by theemployment of the dies shown in Figs. 7 and 8, which correspond in shapeand contour to the outer contour to be imparted to the body of thewhiffietree or draft-bar. The dies shown in the end portions, as at e,are semi-cylindrical for the purpose of holding the end portions of theblank cylindrical, as shown in Fig. 3, and the main body of the die isformed of such shape as to flatten the blank when compressed therein,this being more clearly shown by the crosssection Fig. 7 in the middleportion of the die.

When the draft-bar is employed for whiffietrees, I generally usetherewith the fittings or trimmings shown in Fig. 10, the centralfitting h being formed of a sleeve or collar corresponding in shape tothe flattened blank and secured thereon by shrinking, the sleeve havingthe rings '6 or other engaging device in line with the greatest diameterof the draft-bar in order to hold it in proper position to sustain thegreatest strain. The fittings employed,

however, form no part of my present invention, and any suitable fittingsmay be em ployed with the draftbar.

It is found that a draft-bar formed in accordance with my inventionpossesses very much greater stiifness and strength than a bar formedfrom the same size and weight of tube where it is not flattened, thetapered and flattened draft-bar sustaining a strain of twenty per cent,or more over the ordinary tapered tube, and for this reason thedraftbars can be formed of a tubing having thinner walls and beingsmaller in diameter, and consequently the weight of the draft-bar can bevery materially reduced, the ordinary singletree being reduced about twopounds in weight and the weight of the doubletree being reduced inproportion and weighing but little more, if any, than the ordinarywooden d raft-bar. As the cost of flattening the blanks is comparativelysmall, there is therefore a large saving in the cost of the finisheddraftbar.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is

1. The herein-described method of forming the bodies of Whiffietrees ordraft-bars, consisting in tapering a wrought-metal tube from its middleportion toward the ends and then flattening part or all of the blank soobtained, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The herein-described method of forming the bodies of whiffletrees ordraft-bars, consisting in tapering-a wroughtmetal tube from its middleportion toward the ends and then flattening said blank between the endsthereof, leaving the ends cylindrical, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said GEORGE REITER, have hereunto set myhand.

GEORGE REITER.

Witnesses:

JAMES I. KAY, J. N. CooKE.

